


Read Books, Repeat Quotations

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-04-01 00:58:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3999868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke meets a weird guy on the plane to her friend Octavia's wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Read Books, Repeat Quotations

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a couple tumblr prompts I mashed together for fun. Like you do! Title from Bob Dylan.

"So, how pretentious is that book?"

Clarke hadn't paid much attention to the guy sitting next to her on the plane; she'd seen when he sat down and moved so he could grab his seat belt, but she's not the type to strike up conversations with strangers, so that had been it. Now she glances over, sees he's probably a few years older than she is, handsome, and smirking.

"Sorry?" she says.

He gestures to her novel. "I read some reviews, apparently the author has this huge boner for classical mythology and it's just, like, the most pretentious shit ever."

Clarke raises her eyebrows; it's not something _she'd_ say to a stranger, but apparently this guy doesn't know much about tact. "Do you always insult people's reading material on planes?"

"Just curious."

She shrugs. "It's not bad. Interesting. There's a lot of mythology stuff, but, I dunno. I wouldn't say it's more pretentious than most dude novels. A lot less, actually."

"Dude novels?"

"You know, the whole-- _I'm a privileged white dude who feels vaguely dissatisfied with existence, I'm going to write a thinly-veiled wish fulfillment novel where I hook up a lot and smoke and talk about the artistic process and the meaning of life_ genre."

"So this is privileged white dude writing about mythology instead? That's an improvement?"

"He's not a privileged white dude. He's, um, half-Filipino? I think it was Filipino. And they grew up pretty poor. Plus, he's actually interested in telling a good story instead of just navel-gazing."

The guy is giving her a weird look. "Do you always start books by reading the _about the author_ section?" he asks. "So you know how much to judge based on upbringing?"

"I bought it because I'm on my way to his sister's wedding. I've never met him, but I'm a bridesmaid and he's a groomsman and apparently we're going to be paired together for wedding stuff, so I figured I should read the book so we have something to talk about. Other than what I know about him from his sister."

"Oh," says the guy, with another weird look. Weirder, even. That seems to be the end of the conversation for him, though, so Clarke settles back in with her book and he pulls out his iPad and starts playing _Plants vs. Zombies_. They sit in the usual plane silence until she laughs. He glances over again. "Good laugh, or _god, this book is so pretentious_ laugh?"

"You seem weirdly invested in how pretentious this book is," she remarks. "Which it's not."

"No?"

She thinks about it for a minute, trying to figure out the phrasing. "I guess if we're going on the assumption that any references to classics are pretentious, then yeah, but then we're saying that the Percy Jackson series is pretentious, which seems kind of stupid. And this is--I dunno how much information the reviews actually gave you, but the author does a lot of really cool world-building with it. There's an _American Gods_ thing going with deities having power based on how many worshipers they have, and it's this post-apocalyptic world where some of the old gods were adopted by cult leaders as part of their rise to power, so they regain their strength and start interfering with mortals again, and it's less--" she makes a noise. "It doesn't feel like rehashing the Trojan War just to be a cool literary allusion, it's like the gods are making the same mistakes again with their new followers because they don't know how to change, like that's why history repeats itself."

He's staring at her openly, and she can't really blame him. He's maybe kind of ineptly flirting with her by making fun of her book, and she's coming back with in-depth discussion of themes and some of her own pretentious references. But she is going to have to discuss this shit with the author, so she needs to practice.

"When I say it like that it sounds like it's got a _Mad Max: Fury Road_ vibe, like the Valhalla cult stuff, but I think that's probably just a coincidence. There aren't a lot of other similarities outside of cults, and what's a post-apocalypse without some cool cults?"

He's still staring, and then he laughs, rubs his face, and falls back in his seat with an expression she can't quite read. "Holy shit. You just--god."

"What?" she snaps, defensive. "I'm not just going to blindly tell you it's a shitty, pretentious book because you want me to. It's interesting. I like it. The prose is a little uneven and I think the love story was a bad idea, but it's good. So if you--"

"I'm Octavia's brother," he's says, cutting her off. "That's, uh--that's _my book_. We're going to the same wedding." He offers his hand. "Bellamy."

She almost wouldn't believe him, but he does know Octavia's name. She flips to the back of the book, and there's his picture on the dust jacket, undeniably the same guy. 

"And you just tell random people on planes that your book is pretentious?" she asks, ignoring his offered hand. He takes it back to scratch the back of his head instead.

"Honestly, I never know what to say," he says. "I usually just stay quiet, but--" Clarke gives him her most unimpressed look, and he wilts. "But you're cute," he mutters. "It's not like I knew you were Clarke." He slants her a look. "You are Clarke, right? O's college roommate?"

"Yeah."

He nods and gives her a sheepish smile. "Sorry for, uh--I could have handled that better."

"It's okay," she says, because what else is there to say? It's too bizarre to be anything but okay. "You know, Octavia never mentioned you were in New York. Or on my flight. Is omitting important information a Blake thing?"

He laughs, and she has to admit he has a nice laugh. "I don't know about the New York part, but I lied to her about my flight because I wanted to surprise her, so that's my fault."

"So omitting important information is a Bellamy thing."

"I was going to tell you right away, I had a plan," he protests. "But then you started talking about dude novels and my childhood and it got weird."

"All of which could have been avoided if you just started with _hey, you're reading my book_ ," she says, but it comes out teasing, and she can't keep the smile off her face.

"Again, I had a _plan_ ," he says, grinning too. "You would say, _Oh, no, it's a masterpiece_ and I'd say, _Thank you, I worked very hard on it_ , and you'd be charmed."

"Uh huh. What if I said it was a pretentious pile of shit?"

"Then I'd say _Cool, I won't read it_ and stop talking to you."

"So, you just use your book as a pickup line if the girl likes your book?"

"It's a pretty shitty pickup line if she doesn't."

"Okay, point." She looks back down at the book. "Sorry I said your prose was uneven and insulted your love story."

He barks out a laugh. "My editor told me I had to have a love story, I didn't want it. And it's my first book. Feel free to highlight sections you think are shitty and so I can try to do better next time."

So they end up spending the rest of the flight hunched over his book, reading together, with Clarke pointing out stuff she likes and stuff she thinks is awkward, and every now and then she'll glance at him and he's giving her this look she can't quite figure out, something a little like awe. Which is--weird. But kind of exciting, too.

Octavia promised to come pick her up, in spite of having a ton to do, and Clarke refuses to let Bellamy escape to be a surprise on his own. She takes his arm and drags him to the baggage claim, and he laughs and mildly protests, but makes no effort to get out of her grip.

"What the hell!" Octavia says, and squeezes them both, hard, before hitting her brother in the chest. "Oh my god, you guys are secret dating, aren't you? When did this start? I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Your first guess is secret dating? Seriously?" asks Clarke. Octavia looks significantly at Clarke's hand on Bellamy's arm, and Clarke drops it.

"I was just planning to surprise you," says Bellamy. "Met Clarke on the plane. Coincidence, not conspiracy, I promise."

"Hmm," says Octavia, looking thoughtfully between them. 

"He tried to pick me up by talking shit about his own book," Clarke says, like this will help. "It was so inept."

Octavia sighs. "Of course you did. God, Bell."

"I know, I know," he says, and gives her another big hug. "Come on, let's go get you married."

*

Clarke sees a good deal of Bellamy over the next few days, not only because they're both involved in the wedding, but because Octavia seems to delight in throwing them together at every opportunity. Whenever she sends Bellamy on errands, she'll tell him to take Clarke too, and it's not at all subtle, but in retrospect, Octavia's whole _you're going to hang out with my brother at my wedding I expect you to spend lots of time with him_ thing was already kind of weird. Really, she doesn't get why Octavia didn't just say, _my brother also lives in New York, you should go out with him_ , except that she can't actually see herself ever following through on that.

So maybe Octavia knows what she's doing after all. Because this Bellamy, the one who talks shit about his own book as part of an ill-conceived pickup attempt and teases his sister mercilessly but still does everything she asks and makes Clarke discuss the Percy Jackson series with him because none of his friends have read them? Clarke could definitely see herself calling him when she gets back home.

"Hey, do you still have car access?" she asks, sticking her head into the living room, where he's hunched over his laptop.

He looks up and grins at her, and, yes, okay, Clarke would totally date Octavia's brother. A lot. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Octavia's been so busy she forgot to buy food for dinner tonight," she says, fondly. "I told her I'd handle it if I could get to the grocery store."

"Oh, right," he says, closing his laptop and grabbing keys. "You're a chef, right?"

"How much has Octavia told you about me?" she asks, curious.

He shrugs. "Probably about as much as she's told you about me. Although I knew you were in New York. I got the _she's perfect for you, Bell, she's a chef so she doesn't sleep and drinks all the time too_ talk."

"Not _all the time_ ," Clarke grumbles, and Bellamy grins and holds the door open for her. "She wanted you to ask me out?"

"I moved to New York six months ago," he says. "I didn't know anyone. She said I should call you, because if she told you to call me, you'd be suspicious about her motives and wouldn't do it."

Clarke laughs. "Yeah, definitely true. But you didn't call me either."

He smirks. "Well, I was suspicious about her motives."

"Probably justified."

"Probably. Still," he says, not looking at her. "I'm kind of regretting it now."

"I would have been suspicious too," she says. "Better for everyone this way."

They pick up stuff for lasagna, since it's Octavia's favorite comfort food and will create a bunch of leftovers, which will come in handy in the next few days. Octavia is in full-on _my wedding will be flawless and I will kill anyone who fucks anything up so help me god_ mode, and Clarke's plan is to do whatever she says and make sure she eats. This is her bridesmaid responsibility. She's going to nail it.

Bellamy insists on helping her cook, and they chat about her restaurant and the new book he's working on.

"Not a sequel," he tells her when she asks. "I'm sick of these franchises. The story is over and I did what I wanted to do." He glances at Clarke. "Did you finish it yet?"

"Last night, yeah."

"And you haven't told me what you thought yet?"

She laughs. "I didn't know it was so pressing. Besides, if I tell you now, we won't have anything to talk about at the wedding."

"Beautiful women offering genuine, insightful opinions on my writing is something I didn't even know I was into," says Bellamy. He's making a salad while Clarke finishes off garlic bread, so she can't see his expression and he can't see her blush. "Although, in retrospect, it's pretty obvious. Of course I'm into that."

"I liked it," she says, because she's not sure how else to respond. "I mean, I knew how it would end, but I thought the treatment of the horse analog was really cool, and I liked that you ended with the gods looking at the ruins and reinforced that they hadn't really learned anything or changed. Couldn't really change, I guess. Also, you put in like three sequel hooks, that's why I asked."

"It's _The Iliad_ ," Bellamy says. "It comes with sequel hooks built in. Everyone knows that."

"I'm just saying, you've got a really cool universe going, and I liked Uline a lot. Reading about her adventures trying to get home to her wife would be awesome. I'd pre-order that."

"The pre-order, the highest form of flattery," he teases, but she glances back and can see that the back of his neck is red. "My editor said the same thing. Or, well, he said the book was doing well and sequels are in right now, but he eventually admitted that an _Odyssey_ riff would be fine."

"Not that the new book doesn't sound cool too," Clarke tells him. "I like historical fiction, and the Roman Empire is awesome. But I did want to spend more time in the world you made when I finished."

He's quiet for a minute and then says. "Thanks. That's, uh--that's exactly the kind of thing I like to hear."

She goes over under the pretense of checking the salad, but she nudges him with her shoulder, playful. "Don't go shy on me."

He looks down at her with an expression she can't begin to interpret. "Not shy," he says. They just look at each other for a long moment, and then he clears his throat. "Salad meet your exacting standards?"

She snorts and peers down. "Yeah, we'll make a sous chef out of you yet." She claps him on the shoulder. "Good job."

He catches her before she goes back to the bread. "Thanks," he says. "Really. It's, uh. It's really cool. Hearing you talk about my stuff."

She smiles. "Save some of it for the wedding, remember? Or we're going to have nothing to talk about at the reception."

He gives her a look that warms her down to her toes. "We'll figure something out."

*

She gives her toast before he does his, for which she's grateful, because he's an actual professional author and probably a hard act to follow. She was the one who introduced Octavia and Lincoln, back when they were in college, so she has some good stories to tell about how nervous Lincoln was when he asked about the pretty girl in her Facebook pictures, and how Octavia totally and instantly owned him, and it's nice, revisiting those memories. She can't quite believe they're getting _married_ , but that's what alcohol is for. To make her feel better about that part.

Bellamy's toast sounds like he is trying to motivate the entire wedding party to ride into battle in the name of love, and she's pretty sure if he asked them to afterward, they would have. It's kind of amazing, honestly. She's in awe.

"You missed your calling," she says, elbowing him when he sits back down. "Politics. Or warlord."

He grins. "There's still time."

Octavia and Lincoln have the first dance, and then the second is for the wedding party. Bellamy offers Clarke his hand and she resists the urge to do anything irresponsible, like drag him off to hook up somewhere instead of following wedding traditions. Instead, she settles into his arms and lets him move them around in a slow circle, which is pretty great too. She kind of wants to keep dancing with him after, because he's all warm and solid and smells really good, but he's doing the father/daughter dance with Octavia, and there's no way she'd ever compromise that. So she watches with Lincoln instead, both of them pretending they're not getting a little misty.

"You did good," she tells him. "Congrats."

"I did," he agrees. "Thank you." They clink glasses, and at the end of the dance, Bellamy trades Octavia for Lincoln's flute of champagne.

"I got the better end of that deal," he tells Clarke, grinning. "To the end of our official duties?"

"To the end of our official duties."

They both drain their glasses, and Bellamy considers her. "So, when do you fly out?"

"Tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Trying to figure out if you're on my flight again?"

"I'll be back in time for dinner," he says. "If you will be too, I'm asking you out. Otherwise, I can't do it until Tuesday."

Clarke bites down on her smile. "I'll be back in time for dinner. And I don't have plans. But you aren't going to get a lot of dinner dates out of me. Chef."

"I'll live," he says. "I'm very flexible with my dates." He gives her a bright grin, "I bet you have a lot of strong opinions about restaurants, huh?"

"I bet you have a lot of strong opinions about books."

" _You_ have a lot of strong opinions about books."

She grins. "I have a lot of strong opinions about everything."

Bellamy stares at her for a moment, that look she's starting to recognize as this wonder that she _exists_ , that she's real and he gets to talk to her. It's quite a look. Then he grabs her wrist and tugs her outside so he can kiss her in private. She's only known him for a week, but it feels like she's been waiting to kiss him _forever_ , and she throws her arms around him and pulls him close, kissing back fiercely.

He laughs and rests his forehead against hers. "Octavia will never let us live this down."

"Nope."

"I don't actually care."

She laughs. "Me neither."

*

Octavia's wedding toast starts with, "Bellamy and Clarke owe me everything and I will be claiming their first born, old-school-fairy-tale-witch style."

Clarke glances at Bellamy, who hasn't stopped smiling for the last week, and smiles herself. Honestly, that sounds like a pretty fair trade.

**Author's Note:**

> Some Bellamy POV for this is available [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4039033/chapters/9084112)!


End file.
